Phil has designed a unique way of teaching. With this system of learning, the most important thing is that you need to know your chords and have an ear for music. Learning to play the alternating bass is like learning anything on any other instrument: practice, practice, and finally practice makes perfect. Phil's book is all laid out for you; he even put the amount of times that you should practice that particular pattern, and uses this book to teach. It Does Not Get Any Simpler Than This... Easy-To-Read Print, No Tablature, & No Notation